TRAVEL LOG

Flights to, from L.A. increase

SEVERAL airlines have announced new service from Los Angeles. Among them:

* American Airlines earlier this month began daily nonstops between LAX and Tokyo’s Narita International Airport. Travel round-trip by the end of June and earn 7,500 bonus frequent-flier miles in some fare classes in coach. (Visit www.aa.com/offers for details.)

* America West will begin nonstop service between LAX and Washington Dulles airport on June 1. There will be two flights a day. Introductory round-trip fares, which must be bought by April 26, begin at $178.

* Southwest Airlines will begin a daily nonstop July 6 between LAX and Philadelphia. Advance-purchase round-trip fares begin at $198. Southwest began service from Philadelphia to various U.S. cities on May 6 and is to double its flights in July.

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Inca site

open after mudslides

Tourists began returning to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu northwest of Cuzco, Peru, after mudslides plowed through the nearby town of Aguas Calientes and buried a rail line leading to Peru’s most popular tourist site.

As of the Travel section’s deadline Tuesday, police had found two bodies and thought nine other people had been killed.

“All our trains left on schedule, and we transported 1,400 tourists today,” Joanna Boyen, spokeswoman for Peru Rail SA, the company that operates trains to Machu Picchu, said last week.

As of last week, the tracks were still undergoing repairs.

The train is the main transportation to the citadel, which is also reachable by helicopter or on foot.

Bloomberg News

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State parks

phase in

fee hike

California State Parks, which in December announced they would hike most fees July 1, are increasing the price of annual day-use parking passes.

The pass entitles the holder to park at state parks for a year after purchase, typically saving $6 to $12 a day, depending on the site. The pass cost $67 last year. Last week it went up to $110.

It will increase to $115 on May 1, to $120 on June 1, then to $125 on July 1. The phase-in is aimed at avoiding a shortfall in funds, officials said.

“We’d rather not raise fees,” said parks spokesman Roy Stearns. “But if we don’t, we will close parks.”

A $15-million reduction in the parks’ budget takes effect July 1. For more information, visit www.parks.ca.gov.

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Cautions

for Thailand

and Nepal

The State Department cautioned Americans about visiting an area of Thailand and updated its travel warning on Nepal.

In an April 9 public announcement, the department recommended that U.S. citizens avoid nonessential travel to the far south of Thailand, citing “criminally and politically motivated violence.”

Regarding Nepal, the department cited “continued anti-American threats, Maoist extortion” and attacks on government forces and disruption of roads. It urged Americans to “defer nonessential travel.” It said two American trekkers were reportedly detained by Maoists.

For updates, visit www.travel.state.gov.

-- Compiled by

Jane Engle